States Speeding Up Adoption Wait Times

Since 2000, the percent of children waiting more than three years to be adopted dropped by 35%, moving from 48% to 31%.

In 2013, approximately 102,000 children in foster care were waiting for adoption, 28,000 less than in 2000. Non-Hispanic white children (42%) and younger children, ages birth to 5, (44%) were more likely to be in foster care waiting for adoption. Data also show that of the kids waiting for adoption, 31% had been waiting for more than three years and that only 14% have been waiting for less than a year.

Explore new Foster Care Adoption data available for the nation, states and the District of Columbia in the KIDS COUNT Data Center: